Admiral Mike Mullen unleashed a diplomatic firestorm last week with his testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee alleging that Pakistan’s spy agency, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), played a direct role in supporting the insurgent’s deadly attack on the American Embassy in Kabul last week. According to Adm. Mullen, the departing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and one of the nation’s top military officers, the insurgents who attacked the Embassy were “a veritable arm” of Pakistan’s spy agency.

Since his testimony the White House and State Department have attempted to temper Mullen’s remarks. For example, when White House press secretary Jay Carney was asked whether the Haqqani network was “a veritable arm” of the ISI, Carney told the press, “It’s not language I would use.” Likewise, two administration officials said Mullen had overstated the precision of evidence linking the ISI to the recent attacks. However, while the White House seemed to shy away from Mullen’s bold language, the Obama Administration, as well as the State Department, have supported the broader claim that “links” exist between the Haqqani network and the ISI. Moreover, there are even those within the White House and Congress who feel that Pakistan was complacent in protecting Osama bin Laden whom was living in plain view in a compound just miles from Islamabad last May. In short, while United States’ officials generally agree that Pakistan’s intelligence agency supports the Haqqani network, Mullen ratcheted up the Pakistan-US tension when he asserted that support extended to the high-profile attacks aimed directly at the United States.